Success Through Community Cultural Wealth: Reflections From Black Female College Athletes at a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) and a Historically White Institution (HWI)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Black female college athletes at a Division I historically Black college/university (HBCU) and historically White institution (HWI) and identify key influences that facilitated their academic achievement and positive educational experiences. Two focus groups and eight individual interviews were conducted with three Black female college athletes at a HBCU and five Black female college athletes at a HWI. An 8-item demographic questionnaire was administered to obtain information related to the participants' personal backgrounds. Yosso's (2005) community cultural wealth framework was incorporated to highlight individual and environmental influences that contributed to participants' positive educational and developmental outcomes. Findings revealed participants accessed and leveraged various forms of familial, resistant, aspirational, social, and navigational capital to overcome challenges and excel in college. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Understanding Influences of Development on Black Women’s Success in U.S. Colleges: A Synthesis of Literature

“…Black women grappled with and gained a deeper understanding of their identities (and their “place”) through interactions with White students, other students of Color, specifically Black women, and faculty and staff on campus. Black women’s development influenced how and to what extent they successfully navigated the matrix: Some felt it necessary to exist on campus in isolation (Bonner et al, 2015) or irrelation (Sims, 2008); some experienced outsider within status as resident assistants (Roland & Agosto, 2017); some felt less academically prepared because they lacked adequate career advisement and counseling (Russell & Russell, 2015); some negotiated pressure to make family proud (Winkle-Wagner, 2009); some defined success for themselves (Porter et al, 2018); and others took advantage of institutional resources accessible to them as student athletes (Cooper et al, 2017). Among 19 of the 38 articles, Black women’s developmental processes included whether and to what extent they felt they mattered and belonged in their respective smaller communities and broader campus communities.…”

“…Black women have experienced a historical legacy of systemic oppression and marginalization in society as a whole, and within higher education institutions more specifically. Black undergraduate women understood the situatedness of their identities in spaces wherein their humanity (e.g., bodies, intelligence, experiences, and interactions) was (mis)characterized, (mis)represented, and (over)policed (Cooper et al, 2017; Domingue, 2015; Flowers et al, 2012; Gibson & Espino, 2016; Henry, 2008, 2010; McPherson, 2017; Porter et al, 2018). How Black women were socialized by their families often influenced whether and to what extent they absorbed, internalized, and/or purposely combated others’ perceptions of them (D.…”

“…Similarly, for Black women in college, definitions and interpretations of success are broader than whether they achieve an institutional statistic (Banks, 2009; Commodore et al, 2018; Porter et al, 2018). Black women have deemed their educational experiences successful based on their acquisition of social and cultural capital (Cooper et al, 2017; Greyerbiehl & Mitchell, 2014), ability to make meaning of their identities as Black women (Porter & Dean, 2015), and ability to endure discriminatory institutional spaces/agents and stereotypical expectations from peers (Corbin et al, 2018; Sealey-Ruiz, 2013).…”

Perceptions of the Fiscal Challenges Facing Athletic Departments of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

“…Specifically, Cooper and Hawkins (2014) interviewed male college athlete transfers from HWIHEs to HBCUs and found the college athletes reported feeling like an outcast while on campus at a HWIHE, but felt they had more support on campus at an HBCU. Black college athletes on HBCU campuses consistently report feeling supported, especially from their professors (Cooper & Dougherty, 2015;Cooper & Hawkins, 2012Cooper, Porter, & Davis, 2017). Black college athletes at HBCUs have also reported feeling more satisfied socially on campus compared to Black college athletes at HWIHEs (Cooper & Dougherty, 2015).…”

Winning when the odds are against you : a narrative inquiry of African American female persistence at a predominantly white university

“…Administrators should be aware of how the intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality are overarching factors of persistence on their campuses (Carey, 2018;Orrock & Clark, 2015;Patton, Crenshaw, Haynes, & Watson, 2016;Shields, 2018). Without hearing their stories, there will continue to be a lack of creation of educational supportive services and programs that support Black females across educational settings (Cooper, Porter, & Davis, 2017;Crenshaw, 1992;Patton et al, 2016;Hannon et al, 2018;Reid & Harrison, 2008).…”